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Selecting the right horse isn't simply a matter of picking a breed. Training is probably the most important factor to consider when buying a horse. While certain breeds are required for particular sports, you can't enter anything but a three year old Jockey Club registered Thoroughbred in the Kentucky Derby, within any breed there will be a wide range of horses with differing temperaments and personalities.

Age, training and life experience also affect the horse's ability to work with particular people. Which brings up still another point each combination of one horse one person creates a different entity. This is something that will change when the person changes horses. It is almost as if a separate being is being created.

The horse that is a perfect mount for one rider may, even if the two riders are nearly identical in experience, be a nightmare for someone else. I taught horsemanship for over forty years. By the time I retired, just this past year, I came to several important conclusions. First, a person should take lessons for at least three to four years before buying their own horse. The horse best suited for a beginning rider or driver will be totally undesirable after the person has a year or so experience. It is far cheaper to take lessons than it is to keep a horse. If, at some time during the four years, a person decides they really aren't that interested then it is very easy to stop taking lessons.

Selling a horse is a LOT more difficult. Once the years of lessons have been taken and a person decides they really do want a horse there are a lot of decisions to be made. What form of horse sport do they want to pursue? A person that wants to show is going to need a very different horse for someone interested in competing in sports such as Combined Driving or Endurance. The person wanting to go on trail rides doesn't have an easier choice. Trail is the most demanding of all. A horse has to have a wide range of training and skills to be a successful trail horse. You never know what you are going to meet on the trail and the horse needs the training and experience to deal with everything from kids setting off rockets under their nose (this actually happened to me one time) to Frisbees flying over their heads, to dogs rushing out and nipping at their heels. In some parts of the world you have to worry about bears near the trails.

As for breeds, while the Arabian has a reputation for being a "hot" horse, I've known many that were wonderful horses for beginners.

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